Top 10 Games That Play BEST at 2 PLAYERS
All You Can Board
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You may have already seen our video highlighting our favourite 2-player ONLY games, but this time we’re taking a look at our favourite games that play BEST at 2-players. There are some fantastic games out there that accommodate a variety of players but ultimately feel like they are made for a 2-player experience.
So join us as we each break down our Top 5 games that play best at 2 players!
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0:00 Introduction
2:19 Dylann #5
4:47 Carlo #5
7:33 Dylann #4
10:25 Carlo #4
13:26 Dylann #3
16:16 Carlo #3
19:36 Dylann #2
24:16 Carlo #2
28:16 Dylann #1
32:03 Carlo #1
28.01.2022
What are your favourite games that play BEST at 2 players?
I played Santorini with my 5 years old nephew (but we played it through mobile version) and he loves it! Yeah, he definetly not GOOD at it and at first he became very mad at me from "stealing his towers" , but after couple of games (that are super-fast) he get how to block someone, what worker he need to move when (at first he just focused on one and play all games with solo-worker, but now he understand) etc. We still don't actualy touch any God powers except one, Arthemis, if I remember correctly (that allow to move worker two times), that was given to nephew. So right now he on "training wheels" when he could move twice and I just play "God-free". But this is a very fun and beautiful expiriense, even when played via mobile version.
Carcassonne. Really? That's your best 2-player game? Jesus Christ. And you have a YouTube channel dedicated to board gaming? Move on, people, there's nothing to see here!
A Feast for Odin, Arkham Horror LCG, Spirit Island, LOTR LCG. So co-ops or AFFO which is more or less multiplayer solitaire but it's nice to have someone else along, other games I tend to prefer with 3 or 4.
++ Carcassonne
Grand Austria Hotel …
Carcassonne is an amazing game. Not only is the base game one of the top Gateway Games of all time, but once you add in expansions (I&C, T&B, A&M + River) it's just a great game period. I also agree that's it best playing H2H in a two player game, and against the same opponent over multiple games. It becomes like tactical version of Chess …
Thanks for the video! I mainly play at 2 players, so this type of video is particularly helpful.
I hear Ares Expedition lacks some of the tight decisions of Race for the Galaxy. It would be nice to see your video on reviewing and comparing the two games.
Nice video, as always.
Mine would be:
5. 51st State/Imperial Settlers
4. Castles of Burgundy
3. At the gates of Loyang
2. Innovarion
1. Race for the Galaxy (2 players= This is the way!)
Azul (the original one). It has its moments with more players, but…. it really shines when you know the other person is going to be able to take the tiles you don't take. And then they take the one red tile you NEEDED for your bottom row. ARG!!
We still play a lot of Castles of Burgundy with just two, like you say, it's always an enjoyable game, and we're nicely evenly matched. Feld did a really good job of scaling, so that the game is always just short of the tiles YOU want.
(Side note on CoB, if you get the head-to-head coop boards, it's CRAZY. We've played three other couples that were experienced players and it's intense!! Double-triple-checking every move. Exhausting!)
Good list of games that do play great at two players.
Wife and I play Carcassonne (with Expansions 1, 2, and 4) and it's a great, very strategic, and very mean game. It's all about stealing their city points, or at least tying to deny them a big score, while also trying to gain your own big scores. Not sure I'd want to play with more.
Star Wars: Rebellion could be on this list too, since they claim it's a 2-4 player game, although we all know it's really a two player game for Star Wars geeks.
Great picks! We love Santorini, Innovation and Castles of Burgundy!! ❤️
We can’t wait to play Micro Macro Crime city! I think we have it on order because it’s been sold out at our local store, can’t wait to try it!
Can’t say I was surprised to see Marvel champions on this list 😆 I for sure agree it plays best at 2, I usually play it solo only because Jeff doesn’t like it ha but my preference is 2!
Interesting picks/discussion. I tend to buy games that are designed specifically for 2player or for 2+ players. From my own collection, the pandemic titles all play well at 2-player, Aeon's end series, and other deck-builders like Marvel Champions obviously. I've never played Carcassonne but I thought about picking up the 20th-anniversary edition just to see how it plays as a 2-player dueloff (funny how that selection irks some people). Enjoyed the content. Cheers!
One of my favorite two player games is spirit island. I have an off topic question. but what is the game directly over Carlo’s left shoulder. The art work looks interesting and I’ve never seen it before, I’m very intrigued. Thanks great video again gents!
For me it's for sure Marcel Champions and Arkham Horror LCG, also Santorini and Fantasy Realms. All of those I am not really motivated to try at a higher player count because they work so well at 2. I liked Aeons End way better at 2 than at 3. I also enjoyed playing Gloomhaven JotL at 2 but there I don't have a comparison with more players.
I was waiting for the list, great list from your side, there might be some games I need to check out.
Summoner Wars
Memoir 44
Claustrophobia
Targi
Unmatched
Rococo
Awesome lists. Thanks for sharing. 7 Wonders Duel is on many people's Top 2-Player lists. I thought I would see it mentioned, but nice to see that you had other choices.
YES! I'm excitd that MicroMacro is on here! Just picked it up :). Still need to add Castles of Burgundy to the collection though :P. Thanks for the lists lads!
Race for the Galaxy is such a good call, it works great with the 2 player advance rules. Played literally hundreds of games of this 2 player over the years, so fun.
Carcassonne: With 2 players shared structures give players 0 points in practice, so sharing a structure is always about nullifying the opponent's structure. Shared structures make more sense in 3+ player games. My favorite player count is 3. Also, I love "cut-throat" Carcassonne! It's more deep than some people think.
in my mind, Santorini is a 2-player-only game. I think the 3 and 4 player rules were only added as Kickstarter stretch goals and I feel like those actually ended up hurting the game a lot. It seems like people frequently overlook that the game is really designed to be a head-to-head experience. I have had some fun experiences with the 2v2 teams variant, but I really think Santorini would have seen a lot more critical praise and commercial success if it had just marketed itself as a strictly 2-player game.
I agree that a lot of co-op games play best at two, and I would definitely have the Pandemic Legacy games on my list – also Hanabi, Tranquility, and Spirit Island. I tend not to like competitive games with two players, possibly because I am okay with not being The Winner but am really bummed out by being The Loser xD. Although there are certainly some 2-player-only games that are so well-designed that I can overcome this tendency, I've had to play a lot of 2-4 or 2-5 player games with only two players over the past year and a half (can't imagine why) and always find myself wondering how much better they could be at higher player counts. Also, good call on Santorini, although I agree with other commenters that it's clearly meant to be a 2-player abstract game with 3- or 4-player variants.
New subscriber. Nice selection, top shout for Innovation & Race for the Galaxy, what great games. Now what would I add as top 2 player games… Eclipse 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy, Tigris & Euphrates, and The Crew,.
One of my gaming "groups" is my friend Maria who's brain seems to work the same way as mine so we click so well when we're playing games, obviously at two player. The ones that have really shone are Pandemic Rapid Response, Unlock!, and The 7th Continent. They're all coops, but for competitive games I'd say On Mars and Calico
Carcassone was our gateway game. I absolutely love it.
Great picks. Here’s a few more…
Tsuro, Chronicles of Time, Shipyard, Dominion, and Grand Austria Hotel.
My SO, sadly, did not enjoy playing carcassonne with me. Does that say something about my play style?
Tho i enjoyed playing mansions of madness with her rather than with a group of friends, because it felt more immersive
Pandemic. What else do you like? Candyland and Monopoly?
Citrus – plays up to 5, but there's a flip side of the board that fits 2-3 players.
Ishtar – the board is modular and you build/size it for 2, 3, or 4 people.
The River, one side of the player boards is 3-4 players and the flip side of the boards makes it a great two player worker placement game
Great list. And I totally agree about Carcassonne – it's quite random at higher player counts, and I personally know some people that enjoy that, but the cutthroat nature of the game with 2 players is where it's at. I'd also like to mention Seasons is an amazing best-at-2 game. One of my very favourite games.
I absolutely enjoy playing at two players count, Splendor with all the 4 small expansions that come in the Cities of Splendor expansion. its just great! Also enjoy Azul: Summer Pavilion
To comment on Carlos' opinion on Micro Macro, I thought of aold proverb: "shared sorrow is half sorrow, shared joy is double joy" <3
Great video. First I’ve seen from your channel, and subscribed to see more. Pandemic Legacy at 4 was the BEST gaming experience I’ve had up to this point, which for that game is more the point then the actual game play. Definitely need the right group for that though. I loved some of the other picks though, and a few new ones you both mentioned that I’ll have to try out. RftG would be my number 2 actually, with another title by the same designer being even better. Res Arcana is super good at 2, and I don’t enjoy it much at all with 3 or 4.
Carcassonne is my top 2-player game.
I would highly recommend two superb abstract strategy games: TZAAR and DVONN. TZAAR is the best modern abstract strategy game, DVONN slightly more accessible. Play both with random set up the first few times. Amazing games. The tension in TZAAR is through the roof, and after a few games you will see different stategies develop.
You've tried Knizia's card game Battle Line?
WIngspan.. More generallly, playing a game with 2 players means both of you are looking at the board directly. No craning your head sideways or worse – reading upside down. I jsut cant be bothered with that. i think its a huge advantage to the person(s) who dont need to crane or translate
Pandemic legacy plays best with 3 characters. 2 players share a buffer character.
Magic the gathering, santorini, hive, chess, marvel champions, arboretum, lost cities cg, go, and the list goes on and on (castles of burgundy). Lots of great 2 player games.
Love micro macro with my girlfriend
With Pandemic how many characters do each of you play?
Thank you, but that would be nicer if you gave a sneak peek from the insides of the board game boxes
I breathed a sigh of relief when you pulled out CoB. Absolutely best at 2 player.
For sure agree with Race for the Galaxy and Innovation. I enjoy many games that play well at 2, but for games were 2 is by far my favorite player count…
Kingdoms, by Reiner Knizia
My City, by Reiner Knizia
Hansa, by Michael Schacht
Crazy Chicken or Drive, by Michael Schacht
Taluva, by Marcel-André Casasola Merkle
Cities, Martin F
Haggis, by Sean Ross
The Hanging Gardens, by Din Li Tsan
And for a standard deck of cards, Cribbage.
Hail to the king, Carcassonne ! with expansions for me. It adds so more depth, you just need to pick the right ones for you.
Honestly I’m just happy to see another Jets fan out here in the wild
For me its
Five tribe
Santorini
Marvel legendary
Marvel champion
Elder sign
I love Castles of Burgundy but never played it 2 players. I'll have to try it now. Great pics!
Great list!
Your lists are great and the humor between you guys always cracks me up.
My wife and I visited Carcassonne in France a couple of years ago, too. It was on my bucket list because of the board game. "I'm going to visit this place one day" I'd always say. And sure enough, the trip was a Christmas present to my wife and my myself. We stayed inside the castle for 3 nights, spent some time in the city outside the castle, visited some vineyards in the area. Combined that with a week stay in Catalonia and then a week in Barcelona. What an amazing time we had! Thanks for reigniting the memories. And, oh, by the way… Carcassonne is a great game for two people. Must try Castles of Burgundy now… but then I'd probably have to go back to France. 🙂